NAMA’s panel of loan sales advisers have a right old bitch about the Agency

It was in November 2011 that NAMA appointed two panels of a total of 23 advisers to assist the Agency with selling loans. As we know, NAMA has to date sold €2.4bn of loans but it is understood most of these were sold before the start of 2012. And guess what? The panels of advisers are getting antsy about (a) the lack of business coming their way from NAMA and (b) the fees NAMA is willing to pay for their services. Some of the advisers have unburdened themselves on Sandrine Bradley at the International Financial Review.

The poor dears are unhappy with the slowness of NAMA’s loan disposals and of “the NAMA exit strategy” and of course the “commercial terms were not acceptable” or in other words, NAMA isn’t offering them what they consider appropriate fees. And when they are asked to tender for a specific loan disposal, they don’t get much feedback from NAMA if they’re not successful. Needless to say, such comments cited in the article are unattributed.

Two companies that did go on the record are more mollified in their comments. Jones Lang LaSalle which recently sold €21m of loans relating to Paddy Kelly’s Hotel Phoenicia in Malta says “There is now actually an oversupply of capital in Ireland looking for scarce opportunities. From a pricing perspective it is a good time to sell and NAMA is probably looking to capitalise on this level of demand” Deloitte helpfully chip in with their there-there saying that NAMA is working to get to grips with its portfolio.

It was recently leaked/reported that NAMA is lining up two loan portfolios for sale, €800m relating to what are understood to be David Courtney’s loan connections and between €230-350m depending on sources, of what are understood to be Eamonn Duignan’s loan connections. Ireland is experiencing a loan sale boom at present, discussed here.

NAMA was contacted by the International Financial Review for comment and rejected the criticism and pointed to its €4bn of asset disposals last year.